updated 04:45 pm EST, Wed November 23, 2011

Microsoft to put Kinect into Sony, Vizion TVs?

Microsoft has plans to make and sell TVs with its Kinect sensor built in, according to sources speaking with The Daily. It would then no longer require the company's Xbox 360 gaming console to be connected, and would allow users to turn the TV on or off or change channels with hand gestures rather than remote controls. What would be required, however, is a connection to a PC running Windows, a feat that's already been documented.

The company is said to be in the early stages of licensing the technology to Vizio and Sony. The software in Kinect could recognize viewers and load up their favorite channels or resume on-demand or local programming where they stopped watching it.

If this proves true, Microsoft would offer a competing product in the living room to Apple's upcoming Apple TV set that's rumored to get Siri voice control. This could be more in-depth than Kinect's gesture, letting users potentially input search strings and tune to channels by name or number, for example. Kinect, on the other hand, would allow gaming and other apps that rely on direct control.

Think again, Ballmer.

What would be required, however, is a connection to a PC running Windows, a feat that's already been documented.

Microsoft just can't get past the old Windows Everywhere concept, can they? Windows has become the boat anchor that prevents them from moving forward. And it will cost them dearly in the xPad space, the next-generation TV space, and who knows where else in the future.

Oh well, there's always Corporate IT. They're just as locked into legacy technology as Microsoft itself is. A match made in heaven.